(Reuters) – A Russian military jet nearly collided with a commercial passenger airplane in international airspace near southern Sweden on Friday, the Swedish authorities said, but Russia insisted on Sunday that its jet had kept at a safe distance. Relations between Russia and the West have soured over Moscow’s role in the conflict in...

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday denied Swedish claims that for the second time this year a Russian military aircraft had nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, insisting that the two planes were never less than 70 kilometers (42 miles) apart. Scandinavian Airlines, which was operating the commercial flight, also...

Banned from writing to loved ones, and only allowed letters from family members twice a year, prisoners in Soviet labor camps came up with many ways to squirrel out messages. With no pencils, papers, or envelopes, they were forced to write on cigarette boxes, scratch out words on tree bark, or embroider messages with fish bone on pieces of...

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Defense Ministry on Sunday denied Swedish claims that for the second time this year a Russian military aircraft had nearly collided with a passenger jet over Sweden, insisting that the two planes were never less than 70 kilometers (42 miles) apart. Swedish officials said the Russian intelligence plane had turned off...

Washington (AFP) – US Secretary of State John Kerry left early Sunday for a series of meetings in Europe seeking to head off an end-of-year UN showdown over a Palestinian bid for statehood.His first stop was to be Rome where he will meet separately with both Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin...

Moscow (AFP) – Top US diplomat John Kerry is set to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Rome on Sunday, amid anger in Moscow over the prospect of new US sanctions and possible supply of lethal military aid to Ukraine.The meeting in Rome will take place with tensions soaring after US lawmakers passed a bill — dubbed the...

Washington (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund’s number two said Saturday he was “impressed” by Kiev’s plans for economic reform, following a visit to the country.The IMF, which this year granted Kiev $17 billion in financial aid over two years, as part of a $27 billion global rescue package set up by Western...